May 17, 2025
One-day event: 4pm - 7pm
Fotografisk Center
Staldgade 16, 1699 København V, Danmark
https://www.fotografiskcenter.dk/breaking
Admission:
Free
IMAGE
Still from Family, Michella Bredahl, 2024
TEXT
The Danish photographer and documentary filmmaker Michella Bredahl presents her video work Family (2024) in a new exhibition at Breaking. Together with an accompanying installation, the exhibition creates an intimate universe where personal narratives and fragmented memories intertwine.
Through a blend of archival footage and newly recorded material, a dreamlike story unfolds in which time flows freely between past and present — from family gatherings to the apartment blocks of Bredahl’s childhood neighborhood in Høje Gladsaxe, Denmark. Two siblings grasp a bedspread, a fleeting symbol of unity meant to bring them together rather than pull them apart.
The bed is a central element in the exhibition, functioning both as a safe haven and a vulnerable refuge. It is simultaneously part of the story itself, carrying traces of what was once hidden from the outside world, but that now finds space in an open setting. In the exhibition, we meet young women who have grown up with mothers affected by addiction and difficult life circumstances. Their stories reflect how the imprint of childhood shapes adult life and relationships.
With Family, Bredahl poses the questions: How does our upbringing affect us, and how can we break the patterns we no longer wish to carry forward? Through film and installation, she explores how pain and loss can be transformed into reflection and change.
TALK
Talk
In connection with the opening of the exhibition, artist Michella Bredahl and psychotherapist Morten Bang from TUBA invite the public to a talk. The conversation draws on Bredahl’s artistic practice and personal experiences, exploring how creativity and art can function as tools for creating meaning and reestablishing a sense of connection – both to oneself and to others – as reflected in her works.
The talk offers a space for reflection on what it means to grow up in families affected by substance abuse, how these experiences can leave lasting imprints into adulthood – and how we can become better at speaking openly about addiction and its consequences.
TUBA is an organization in Denmark that offers free counselling and therapy to young people between the ages of 14 and 35 who have grown up in homes affected by alcohol or drug abuse. Every year, more than 3,000 young people receive support through TUBA.
ABOUT BREAKING
Breaking is an exhibition platform at Fotografisk Center showcasing rotating exhibitions featuring emerging Danish and international artists who work with photographic media in various ways. The exhibitions are curated by Fotografisk Center’s staff: Allette Ngo Sørensen, Katrine Christensen, and Pauline Koffi Vandet.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Michella Bredahl (b. 1988) is a documentary director educated at the National Film School of Denmark and has a background in photography from Fotoskolen Fatamorgana.
She primarily works with auteur-driven documentary films and art photography, creating intimate and emotionally charged narratives. Her work revolves around themes such as identity, femininity, relationships, and memory, often conveyed through a poetic approach to portraiture and visual aesthetics.
Bredahl has exhibited internationally, including at Shoot the Lobster in New York and Kunsthalle Basel. Her films have been screened at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and Rockaway Film Festival, and in 2023, she published her first monograph, Love Me Again, with Loose Joints Publishing.
Breaking is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation and the Augustinus Foundation and the exhibition Family by Michella Bredahl is additionally supported by the Beckett Foundation, Vesterbro Lokaludvalg– Vesterbropuljen and Flügger.
Thanks to Michella Bredahl’s assistant Siggy Sonne for helping with the exhibition setup.